Bioenvironmental engineering: New water filtrations system coming to 386th AEW dining facilities.

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. William Banton
  • 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  The 386th Expeditionary Medical Group Bioenvironmental Engineering unit works to ensure that installation drinking water is safe for consumption.

Recently, bioenvironmental has been working in coordination with the 386th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron and the 386th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, to bring an ultraviolet water filtration system to the dining facilities.

Already implemented in an on-base, non-government dining establishment, the goal is to have the UV filtration system installed in the government-run dining facilities in the next few months.

The filtration system uses a combination of UV rays and water filtration filters, similar to home use systems, to kill bacteria and ensure the water is drinkable.

Master Sgt. Michael Huller, 386th EMDG, Medical Support Flight chief, said by utilizing the UV filtration systems in the dining facility, it allows less bottled water usage in sanitation and food preparation.

“It enables us to get off of bottled water. We will save approximately $150,000 per year in bottle water once [the filters] are put in the system.”

In accordance with the Clean Water Act, the United State Environmental Protection Agency established water quality guidelines. Currently all drinking water accessible to the installation has been qualified as non-drinkable requiring service members to consume bottled water.

In order to ensure the water quality is safe for consumption, bioenvironmental sporadically tests the base water supply, including bottled water, for bacteria, chlorine and pH levels. Huller said that most communities use some amount of chlorine in their water purification process while testing for pH helps determine the acidity and alkalinity level of the water.

“All we are looking for is something outside the norm that’s going to indicate that there was something else added to the water or something is not right with the water,” he said.

Testing the levels of chlorine in the water can provide an early indicator if something is wrong with the water supply. Extremely low levels of chlorine can be an indicator of bacteria.

Bioenvironmental also mitigates risk to the base populace by testing the water supply using the M27 water testing kit. The kit tests for various neve and chemical agents which may be present in water, and is used when threat levels indicate there may be an increased level of risk to the base population.

“We look for ways to keep people in the fight because we don’t have the luxury of a home station where if you send someone home sick, there is another person to step up and do the job,” Lt. Col. Christopher Cutler, 386 EMDG Medical Support Flight commander said about why the bioenvironmental job, and the new system is important.

The mission is too important and the resources are too limited to even have one service member out of the fight, said Cutler.